Lochard all in as Ell-Saline boys coach

Wednesday

Michael Lochard had one clear message for his Ell-Saline players this fall when he took over as the Cardinal boys' basketball coach.

He wanted to reassure them he was all in.

"I addressed that from the very beginning, that I'm here for the long haul," said Lochard, the Cardinals' fourth coach in as many years. "You can see some of that in my coaching style.

"I consider myself a program coach."

That said, Lochard will have every opportunity to build his program from the ground up. The Cardinals lost 10 seniors and all five starters from a team that went 4-18 last year, 1-8 in the Heart of America League. Of the four returning players with varsity experience, 6-foot-4 forward Patrick Giersch is the lone senior.

"Because I'm a program-minded coach, being young is a good thing," said Lochard, who coached for 15 years in his native Indianapolis before moving to Salina a little over two years ago. "Obviously we want to win this year, but big picture, you can build your program with younger guys."

So far, so good.

"After just a few practices, for them to buy in already and sow faith in what I'm giving them is huge," Lochard said. "Especially Giersch being a senior, I'm his fourth coach.

"As we go through, a key for us will be buying in, doing what we do and doing it well."

The Cardinals will start the season shorthanded with junior guard Sawyer Kramer sidelined by a knee injury suffered in football. But 6-1 sophomore Treyton Peterson is back and will start at point guard after averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds as a freshman, and Giersch added 4.0 points and 5.0 rebounds on the interior.

Sophomore TJ Morrical saw limited playing time a year ago, but should step in at a guard, along with freshman Taegan Bradley, while 6-3 junior Caleb Hammonds is the likely starter at a forward.

Others who should fit into the rotation are Hunter Steinbruck, Carter Underwood and senior newcomer Reis Jennings.

"One thing with graduating as many seniors as we did, we're rebuilding anyway, so I'm introducing a new offensive philosophy," Lochard said. "We'll run a five-out motion and I like that starting a new program because you can continue adding to it.

"There's not a lot of things they have to process and think about. It's a read and react offense."

With limited experience, Lochard said he doesn't expect the Cardinals to apply a lot of full-court pressure, relying instead an active half-court defense to create opportunities at the other end.

"I'm a defensive-minded coach overall," he said. "We'll probably spend a lot of time in man-to-man and some 1-3-1 (zone).

"My philosophy is help-side team defense and I've really been pushing that in practice, that we want it to generate a lot of points."

Versatility could be a strength.

"I'd say we're well balanced," Lochard said. "We're not very deep, but we've got guys that can play both sides of the ball.

"My biggest concern is definitely depth."

Nonetheless, Lochard is thrilled to be back in coaching.

"Coaching basketball is my passion," said Lochard, whose full-time job is as manager for Salina's Pregnancy Service Center. "When we first moved here — my wife grew up in Salina — that was the one thing missing for me.

"I really missed being in the game and I love working with teenagers and being able to connect."

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